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How Ronald Koeman’s sack at Barcelona has become bad news for Chelsea
Barcelona had finally on Wednesday night after their consecutive La Liga loss against Rayo Vallecano fired their under-pressure boss Koeman following their yet another disappointing performance.
Sadly, the defeat has left the Catalan giants languishing in ninth place in the Liga table after 10 games and six points adrift of league leaders and rivals Real Madrid.
Meanwhile, following the widespread reports in Spain, another Barcelona’s former legend Xabi Hernandez has emerged as the top pick to succeed Koeman and has already been offered the job.
It is believed that the 41-year-old former Spain international had been in contact with president Joan Laporta prior to Koeman’s dismissal as the Catalan giants weighed up their options and Barca will now trigger a release clause in his contract with current club Al Sadd.
National Daily meanwhile understands that there is still some paperwork to complete and Xavi’s return to Camp Nou may not be made official until Friday, but the former midfielder is already thinking about how he can improve the squad.
And with Barcelona appeared to be blighted by some horrendous displays at the back, Xavi has earmarked Sevilla defender and long-time Chelsea target Jules Kounde as the solution to the club’s defensive woes.
The 22-year-old came close to joining the Blues over the summer, though their offers fell short of Sevilla’s valuation, and Chelsea are expected to renew their attempts to sign the Frenchman in January.
The bad news for Chelsea now is that they may face heavy competition from Barcelona with the recruitment of long time target.
It has also been reported by Spanish journalist Gerard Romero that Xabi’s top target at Barcelona is to return to the 4-3-3 system that was used to such great success when he was a player at the club under Pep Guardiola.
And to achieve the above agenda, Barca will need some new signings and Xabi is believed to have also earmark Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling – who has fallen out of favour at the Etihad – as a potential recruit.
However, it is believed that Xavi has full confidence in Ousmane Dembele on the the opposite flank, and is hoping to tie down the Frenchman to a new contract, with his current deal expiring next summer.
